Buddhism is derived from practice. The Buddha himself practised until he fully understood the true nature of Dhamma; only then did he begin to teach others. Buddhists, therefore, understand the importance of practising meditation and training themselves according to the teachings. When they are not put regularly into practice, the knowledge and understanding gained from learning will not bring satisfactory results. So you should learn about and practise the moral precepts until they become higher morality, and learn and practise all the different levels of wisdom until you reach the level of higher wisdom. You must then practise until you truly reach freedom from dukkha and escape from the round of repeated birth and death. Because of that, practice is the most important part of Buddhism.”

"When we transcend one level of truth, the new level becomes what is true for us. The previous one is now false. What one experiences may not be what is experienced by the world in general, but that may well be truer. (Ven. Nanananda)

“I hope, Anuruddha, that you are all living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.” (MN 31)

Do not accept any of my words on faith,Believing them just because I said them.Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns, And critically examines his product for authenticity.Only accept what passes the test By proving useful and beneficial in your life.

Jarmika wrote:Do not accept any of my words on faith,Believing them just because I said them.Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns, And critically examines his product for authenticity.Only accept what passes the test By proving useful and beneficial in your life.

Thanks, Jarmika. It is good to see you here. I notice you have been absent from Facebook lately and am hoping all is going OK.

"When we transcend one level of truth, the new level becomes what is true for us. The previous one is now false. What one experiences may not be what is experienced by the world in general, but that may well be truer. (Ven. Nanananda)

“I hope, Anuruddha, that you are all living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.” (MN 31)

Jarmika wrote:When you think and it makes you unhappy,ask yourself " why I am thinking " ( of it )

Yes, I find this one helpful.

When there is suffering, what is the cause?

Metta,Retro.

"When we transcend one level of truth, the new level becomes what is true for us. The previous one is now false. What one experiences may not be what is experienced by the world in general, but that may well be truer. (Ven. Nanananda)

“I hope, Anuruddha, that you are all living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.” (MN 31)

Jarmika wrote:Do not accept any of my words on faith,Believing them just because I said them.Be like an analyst buying gold, who cuts, burns, And critically examines his product for authenticity.Only accept what passes the test By proving useful and beneficial in your life.

Jarmika, I might direct your attention to this essay by Bhikkhu Bodhi on the sutta in question which clears up in my view what is a common misunderstanding of the subject (I've even read this misunderstanding being expounded by His Holiness the Dalai Lama):

It basically comes down to the fact that while the audience of the discourse you quoted was not looking to undertake the Buddha's actual path to liberation, and did not see him as their guide in that way, that the Buddha gave general advice to them to help them evaluate the claims of various spiritual teachers, while in fact we see on many occasions that the Buddha does teach confidence in him and his enlightenment experience as an important factor in future progress:

"Four conditions, Vyagghapajja, conduce to a householder's weal and happiness in his future life. Which four?

"The accomplishment of faith (saddha-sampada), the accomplishment of virtue (sila-sampada), the accomplishment of charity (caga-sampada) and the accomplishment of wisdom (pañña-sampada).

"What is the accomplishment of faith?

"Herein a householder is possessed of faith, he believes in the Enlightenment of the Perfect One (Tathagata): Thus, indeed, is that Blessed One: he is the pure one, fully enlightened, endowed with knowledge and conduct, well-gone, the knower of worlds, the incomparable leader of men to be tamed, the teacher of gods and men, all-knowing and blessed. This is called the accomplishment of faith.

"What is the accomplishment of virtue?

"Herein a householder abstains from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and from intoxicants that cause infatuation and heedlessness. This is called the accomplishment of virtue.

And we see that confidence in some of the major tenets of the doctrine which are expounded specifically by the Buddha as truths he realized himself during his enlightenment (past and future lives, the functioning of kamma as good and bad deeds, manifold realms of existence from heavens to hell) are to be accepted by those who place confidence in his teaching, as a crucial part of the path to liberation (Right View of the Noble Eightfold Path):

"And what is the right view that has effluents, sides with merit, & results in acquisitions? 'There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world & the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn beings; there are priests & contemplatives who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.' This is the right view that has effluents, sides with merit, & results in acquisitions.

An understanding of the dynamics of the laws of kamma and rebirth that operate in the universe with relation to sentient beings are expounded to his disciples that those who place confidence in his enlightenment experience are expected to believe, for one thing so it can lead them to a fortunate rebirth, and another so they can more fully understand the dynamics of the rebirth process and ultimately escape the process altogether.

Jarmika wrote:Don't worry about something that has not happened yet......

Indeed. Don't worry, but do prepare...

One who builds wealth in this wayIs ready for family and household.The wealth should be divided into four partsSo that he or she will always have good friends and a favourable life.

One part should be spent and enjoyed as the fruits of work,Perhaps to use a portion to help the needy and less fortunate.Two parts should be used to conduct or invest in one’s own business.One part to save in case of misfortune.

"When we transcend one level of truth, the new level becomes what is true for us. The previous one is now false. What one experiences may not be what is experienced by the world in general, but that may well be truer. (Ven. Nanananda)

“I hope, Anuruddha, that you are all living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.” (MN 31)

The teaching of Buddhism is about giving up evil and practising good.Then, when evil is given up and goodness is established, we must let go of both good and evil .We have already heard enough about the Middle Way , that is , the path to transcend both of those things.... All the Dhamma talks and teaching of the Buddha have one aim - to show the way out of suffering to those who have not yet escaped...The teaching are for the purpose of giving us the right understanding...If we don't understand rightly,,then we can't arrive at peace...

We use thinking as a tool, but the knowing that arises because of its use is above and beyond the process of thinking; it leads to our not being fooled by our thinking any more. You recognize that all thinking is merely the movement of the mind, and also that knowing is not born and doesn't die. What do you think all this movement called 'mind' comes out of? What we talk about as the mind -- all the activity -- is just the conventional mind. It's not the real mind at all. What is real just IS, it's not arising and it's not passing away. Trying to understand these things just by talking about them, though, won't work. We need to really consider impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and impersonality (anicca, dukkha, anatta); that is, we need to use thinking to contemplate the nature of conventional reality. What comes out of this work is wisdom -- and emptiness. Even though there may still be thinking, it's empty -- you are not affected by it.

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.